Principal Parts and Sails of 19th-Century Sailing Ships

This module describes the principal parts of a sailing ship in the British or American eets of the 19th
century, as well as the locations and naming protocol of masts, yards, ga s, stays and booms and the sails they spread. A ship illustration is included, labeled with the names of sails typically used for propulsion. Most information was obtained from the book Seamanship: Including Names of Principal Parts of a Ship; Masts, Sails, Yards, &c. by Captain Sir G. S. Nares.

USS Young America (1853)

The names and locations of sails on the USS Young America.

Principal Parts of a 19 th Century Ship of the British or American Fleets

A ship is divided crossways, into the

• Fore
• Midship and
• After parts

The bow is the front or foremost end of the ship.

The midship is the middle part of the ship.

The stern is the aftermost end of the ship.

The starboard side is the right-hand looking towards the bow.

The port side is the left-hand side, looking towards the bow.

  

Keel	The principal piece of metal or timber at the lowest
	part of the ship, running fore and after; it is the
	foundation from which all the other parts rise to
	form the ends and sides of the ship

Stem	Rises from the fore part of the keel to form the bow
Stern post	Rises from the after part of the keel to form the
	stern
Body post	Rises from the keel before the stern post. The space
	between it and the stern post is called the screw-
	aperture
Ribs	A gurative expression for the framework which,
	resting on the keel, forms the sides of a ship
Keelson	An internal keel, lying fore and after above the main
	keel and lower pieces of the ribs con ning the oors
	in their places
Knight heads	Two strong uprights, one on each side of the upper
	part of the stem, to strengthen the bow and support
	the bowsprit
False keel	An additional keel below the main keel. By oering
	greater resistance, it prevents the ship being driven
	so much sideways through the water away from the
	wind. It also protects the main keel, should the ship
	take the ground
Gripe	A projection forward at the lowest part of the stem;
	by exposing a larger surface it prevents the fore-
	most part of the ship, when sailing with the wind
	on one side, from being driven sideways away from
	the wind, and therefore eects the turning power of
	the ship
Bilge pieces	Long pieces of wood or iron a‑xed to the outside of
	the ship's bottom, in a position to oer resistance
	to the water as the vessel rolls, and thereby lessen
	the motion
Garboard strakes	The lowest planking outside, nearest to the keel,
	running fore and aft
Bends	The thickest outside planking, extending from a lit-
	tle below the water
Counter	The afterpart of the bends, the round of the stern
Run	The narrowing of the afterpart of the body of the
	ship below the water

Limbers		Gutters formed on each side of the keelson to allow
		the water to pass to the pump-well
Limber boards		Form a covering over the limbers
Double-bottom		In some iron ships the frames and girders are cov-
		ered in with iron plates, forming literally an inner
		ship, the space between the inner and outer ships
		being termed the double bottom; this method of
		construction gives great strength, and safety in the
		event of damage occurring to the outside skin
Water-tight bulkheads		The name applied to the sides of the numerous com-
		partments into which it is customary to divide iron
		vessels
Wings		In addition to the safety aorded by the double
		bottom and Water-tight compartments, a per-
		pendicular bulkhead is run fore and aft the center
		portion of the vessel, some few feet from the skin
Pump-well		An enclosure round the mainmast and pumps
Beams		Horizontal timbers lying across the ship, to support
		the decks and connect the two sides
Shelf piece		Extends all round the ship inside for the beams to
		rest upon
Waterway		Thick planking extending all round the inside of the
		ship immediately above the beams
Partners		Frames of timber tted into the decks to strengthen
		them,  immediately  round  the  masts,  capstans,
		bitts, etc.
Carlings		Short pieces of timber, running fore and aft, con-
		necting one beam to another, to distribute the
		strain of the masts, capstan, and bitts, among the
		several beams so connected
Knees		Pieces of iron uniting the beams to the shelf-piece
		and the ship's side
Stanchions		Pillars of metal or wood supporting a beam amid-
		ships
Treenails		Wooden bolts used in fastening the planks to the
		timbers and beams

Caulking		Driving oakum between the plans, it is then payed
		( lled in) with pitch or marine blue
The rudder		Hangs upon the stern post by pintles and braces,
		for steering or directing the course of the ship
Tiller		A piece of timber or metal tted fore and aft into
		the head of the rudder, by which to turn it in steer-
		ing
Yoke		A cross-piece of timber or metal tted on the rudder
		head when a tiller cannot be used
Wheel		A wheel, to the axle of which the tiller or wheel
		ropes are connected, by which to move the rudder
Helm		The rudder, tiller, and wheel, or all the steering
		arrangements of a ship